RMT Plan for Return to Practice at Moss Healthcare in Respect of COVID-19

Updated May 26, 2020 by Ashleigh Malan RMT, Evan Moncrieff RMT, Laura Kidson RMT, Ian Mason
RMT, Chris Lachambre RMT

This plan was developed with the goal of reducing risk of exposure to the virus that causes
COVID-19 for both patients and the practitioners within our clinical setting. Here, we identify the
actions that the therapists at Moss Healthcare commit to, and that all visiting patients must
commit to, in order to resume massage therapy services.

The main aspects of the plan include: self-assessment and screening requirements, physical
distancing protocol, enhanced cleaning, hand hygiene, and appropriate use of Personal
Protective Equipment.

Ongoing Self-Assessment and Pre-Screening Requirements:

1. Symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to other respiratory illnesses and seasonal allergies. An
appointment MUST be cancelled immediately if either the patient or therapist presents with even
mild symptoms that may be signs of COVID-19 including: fever, new or worsening cough,
shortness of breath, sore throat or pain with swallowing, runny nose/sneezing, nasal congestion,
hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, decrease or loss of sense of smell or taste, chills,
unexplained or unusual headache, unexplained fatigue/malaise.

COVID-19 symptoms may range from mild to severe. Patients are required to cancel
appointments if they experience what they determine to be “just the sniffles” or “feeling
under the weather” on the day of their appointment.

* IF YOU ARE UNWELL, please CANCEL your appointment IMMEDIATELY. There will be no
cancellation fees due to illness.

The therapists will be using BC’s Online COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool every day to assess
our own health. Within the 24-hr period prior to each of your appointments you are asked to
please complete this assessment tool and inform your therapist of the results at the time of your
appointment. You can find the online assessment tool here: https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en

* In the event that the therapist is unwell, they will cancel your appointment immediately,
self-isolate and follow Public Health directives in informing patients treated over the previous 14
days.

2. COVID-19 Screening Questionnaire
For each appointment you are required to complete a COVID-19 pre-screening questionnaire
that will be sent to you by email in the 24-hr period before your appointment.

3. Verbally update your therapist as to your health status before entry into the clinic.

Updated Consent Form

In the current environment of COVID-19 risk, informed consent requires that the
patient be informed and understands that:
– any massage therapy treatment involves some risk of COVID-19 transmission
– the therapist is following protocol to help reduce or mitigate risk where possible, but that the
risk cannot be reduced to zero

There will be a new consent form each client will be required to sign before resuming treatment.

Cleaning

Enhanced cleaning protocols follow guidelines set out by the BC Centre for Disease Control
guidelines. We will be disinfecting all common areas, high-touch surfaces, treatment tables,
computers, POS and chairs in between clients. We will be following a cleaning checklist and
scheduling extra time between clients for this cleaning. We will be using products approved by
Health Canada for use against COVID-19 for this cleaning.

All linens (including sheets, blankets and pillow cases) are single use only and will be laundered
using high heat and detergent between each use.

Hand Hygiene

There will be hand sanitizer provided at various points throughout the clinic, and soap and water
available for hand washing. You will be asked to clean your hands using one of these methods
upon entry into the clinic. Please bring your own hand sanitizer if you’d prefer to use your own.

Personal Protective Equipment

Both therapist and patient will be required to wear a clean mask for each treatment. Please
arrive wearing a clean mask (cloth or disposable) that covers both your nose and mouth for the
duration of your time in the clinic.

Gloves – gloves are also considered appropriate but not required. Therapists will wear gloves
only at the patient’s request.

Physical Distancing

There is new clinic protocol to discontinue use of the waiting areas in order to reduce the
amount of people in the clinic at the same time, and to minimize interactions with other people.

Your therapist will meet you outside the back of the clinic (in the parking lot behind the clinic)
and will walk you upstairs (opening doors for you along the way) to the treatment room, and will
escort you back out. If you require the use of the elevator to come upstairs, your therapist will
meet you out front and will escort you in the front doors.

Additionally, we will be trying to “stagger” our appointment times to minimize interactions within
the clinic. Because of this, your therapist may be a few minutes late coming to pick you up from
outside. Your total time with the RMT will not change, but you may just start and end a few
minutes later.

Washroom use: please use the washroom before coming to your appointment and only use the
public washroom if absolutely necessary. It will be sanitized after every use.
It is not possible to maintain physical distancing while in the treatment room. For this reason,
both the therapist and the client will be wearing a mask at all times. Gloves can be worn at the
patient’s request.

Clients will be asked to put all clothing and personal belongings in a plastic bin which will be
sanitized between patients.

Please bring your own water, if required, to your appointment. Glasses and water jugs will not
be available for your use.

If you have any specific concerns please let your therapist know at the time of your treatment.